Why Don't You Kiss Her?
by WonderTwinsUnite
Summary: "Been holding out on us, Rizzoli?" Korsak teased. Set in the Running Up That Hill/You Make Me Smile/The Unwinding Cable Car 'verse. Pre-relationship. Set sometime after "I Kissed A Girl". Jane/Maura.


**Title**: Why Don't You Kiss Her?  
**Author:** WtUnite [Chedders/Jess]  
**Rating:** K+**  
****Pairing:** Jane/Maura  
**Status:** 1/1  
**Category/Warnings**: Set sometimes after "I Kissed A Girl"  
**Spoilers:** No spoilers, set sometime after "I Kissed A Girl"  
**Summary:** "Been holdin' out on us, Rizzoli?" Korsak teased.  
**A/N: **Another one of our mini-fics for the Jai Chronicles. The first kiss.

The Dirty Robber was the go to place for cops, detectives, a couple of the more down to earth brass, lawyers, sometimes EMTs and almost anyone who had a hand in putting away the bad guys. And Murry was a good enough guy to have a bed in back for those who couldn't or shouldn't be driving home. But Jane wasn't at that point yet, but she was pleasantly buzzed. So were Korsak and Frost. And, if Jane was any judge, Maura was as well.

The triple homicide of three young college girls had been brutal. The scene had made Frost sick, never a surprise, but Jane had also felt the churning in her stomach. Sure the jackass frat boy was in custody now but that didn't make it any better.

"You want some more?" Jane asked Maura, tapping her empty beer bottle against Maura's wine glass. Settling all four feet of her chair back on to the floor Jane made to stand up but Frost beat her to it.

Smiling at Frost, Maura nodded her approval when he asked if she wanted anything. He was already familiar with what she was drinking, and could pronounce it a lot better than Jane could. Watching his retreating back for a moment, she turned to look at Jane and her smile instantly became just a little brighter. The homicide detective looked relaxed for the first time in days, and that made Maura happy.

"I think Frost has us covered," she replied after a moment, pushing away her empty wine glass as she relaxed back into the chair. They often came here without the guys, but tonight was for celebrating and she didn't really mind. Frost and Korsak were great company, most of the time. As long as they didn't have any embarrassing information on you. That just made them unbearable.

Glancing up at the number of empty beer bottles on the table, her hazel-green eyes drifted over to Jane again. "I think most of those are yours, Jane."

With a smirk Jane leaned back again until the chair's front legs hovered off of the ground and her back was braced against the wall. "I can hold my liquor," she said with a smirk. "Better than you Miss two-glasses-of-red-wine."

"You're just drinking to dull the pain of your ankle from tackling Davenport down half a flight of stairs," Korsak argued. When the suspect ran and shoved Frost into the door Jane had taken off down the hall after him in an anticlimactic chase which ended with Korsak's new nickname for Jane: The Flying Rizzoli.

Smacking Korsak lightly Jane rotated her ankle that did hurt a little, not that she would admit to any pain. "You don't mess with my people, end of story." She smiled a small half smile at Maura.

The blush on her face was partly due to her two glasses of red wine, but the majority of it came from the smile that Jane was shooting in her direction. Being best friends with Jane Rizzoli came with a lot of sleepless nights sometimes, but Maura was also aware of the fact that no one else would have her back so completely. Being friends with Jane was often like a double edged sword, but Maura had already gone through the pain of letting herself be impaled ages ago. It was almost like getting an ear pierced, or so she had heard.

"You really should let me look at that, Jane." It wasn't the first time that she had pointed it out since leaving the scene of the chase. She had been there, of course. They had wanted her along to read the man's facial language as they questioned him, but things quickly got out of hand and they ended up not really needing her after all to find out that he was their guy. The fact that he ran at the mere sight of them was enough proof to go along with the evidence they had.

"I've said it once and I'll say it one more time. I. Am. Fine," Jane declared, thumping the chair's legs back on to the ground once more. Of course her foot also hit the floor harder than Jane intended. Her face blanched but she didn't make a sound. But that didn't fool her friends.

Shoving Jane playfully Korsak teased, "What was that bullshit about being fine?"

Jane punched Korsak's shoulder and picked up her chair to move it closer to Maura. "Screw you old man, I know who my real friends are," Jane told him, draping an arm around Maura's shoulder.

Maura was her best friend. Jane might trust Korsak and Frost to have her back but Maura was who she told secrets to and who listened to her bitching and moaning. Maura was even a good enough friend to allow herself to be used as a buffer at Rizzoli family gatherings.

Trying to give Jane a completely serious look was mostly a failure on Maura's end. She would get a look at that ankle before the night was over. She always managed to get what she wanted when she was with Jane, and right now all she wanted was to know that her friend was really alright. She had no doubt that the brunette was fine, but Jane's version of fine was a lot different than her own.

Relaxing into the arm that Jane threw around her shoulders, Maura took the wine that Frost offered upon his return with a smile. Giving everyone else their drinks as well, he took his seat next to Korsak, raising an eyebrow at Jane and Maura.

"What'd Korsak do this time?" he asked with a smirk, feeling the slightly dirty look that the older detective threw his way. They all knew how to have a good time with each other. After so much time, it was just natural.

"He threatened Jane's macho-factor." Maura offered in a very serious tone, glancing sideways at her friend. Frost nodded, understanding completely, but the smirk was still on his face.

"Sounds about right," he replied after a moment, taking a drink of his beer.

"Hey, knock it off Korsak," Jane threatened, flicking a bottle cap at him.

Raising his hands in surrender Korsak tried to appease his ex-partner. "Hey, at least you have more balls than the slimebag we locked up today." Frost, who looked green around the gills at the thought of the murders, nodded in agreement.

Pursing her lips tight Jane's happy buzz disappeared. She hadn't confessed to the two detectives how much the case got to her and only made a couple comments to Maura. "Come on, the case is over, drop it. We're not working, so no work talk. Alright?" Jane said, looking at each of them in turn, ending with Maura.

The moment Korsak mentioned the case, Maura felt the tension at the table appear. It was a very sobering thought. Even though she stared at dead bodies often enough, these three had left her feeling slightly ill. It was something she had only hinted at to Jane, though, because the detective had been having her own problems during the case. She felt it was her duty to take care of Jane before herself, and that's what she had done.

Turning to look at Jane, she felt the look on her face soften. "Jane…"

She cared deeply for Maura but Jane hated when the other woman did that. The pity thing. "I'm fine Maura, swear to god. Now are you comin' over on Sunday? Because my parents are coming to my apartment for dinner, god knows why."

It was obvious how much the case took a toll on his ex-partner and Korsak let the topic slide. "Why don't I ever get invited to the family shindigs?"

"Because I don't like you," Jane shoots back easily. Smirking at Maura, Jane continued, "Plus with all the shit Maura puts up with I'm damn lucky to have her."

Giving Jane a smile and nod, Maura turned away to nurse her wine for a moment, listening to Korsak complain and Frost laugh. She wouldn't miss a family dinner with Jane. She'd been coming to them for almost a year now and she liked it. Even with the bickering and the friendly fighting between Jane and Frankie, Maura had never felt more at home. It was easy to imagine that they were her family too.

Feeling Jane look at her again, she glanced over at her friend, but something in Jane's smirk was different and Maura cocked her head to the side a little. Studying the brunette for a moment, she put her wine down. "Jane?"

Taking a pull from her bottle of beer Jane watched Frost and Korsak argue. She knew that they used to fight because Korsak resented Frost being her partner; however it was now just bickering over nothing. Jane was about to join back in on the bantering but hearing her name stopped her. "Yeah?" Jane asked, looking at Maura inquisitively.

Maura looked at Jane, leaning just a little closer. She was usually so sure of herself, but Jane was horribly skittish, and she wanted to be absolutely sure before she did anything. The bickering between Frost and Korsak became background noise as her hazel-green eyes focused on the face of her best friend. Searching for something, and apparently finding it, the medical examiner leaned forward and pressed her lips against the detective's without a care in the world.

Jane waited for whatever it was Maura had to say. It must be something important from the way Maura was eyeballing her, as if gauging her readiness. And that was Jane's last coherent thought before Maura kissed her. It wasn't like she hadn't thought about it; you would have to be blind not to see how gorgeous Maura Isles was. But they were best friends first and foremost and…

A long, low whistle interrupted. "Been holding out on us Rizzoli?" Korsak teased, only to have a handful of bar nuts hit him in the face.

Maura pulled away, a light blush coloring her cheeks when she realized that Korsak and Frost were still at the table. Sitting back in her chair, but staring at her lap and nothing else, the medical examiner started reciting the periodic table in her mind, calming herself down as she tried hard not to look at Jane to see her reaction. Perhaps kissing her best friend in front of her partner, and former partner, was not the best plan in the world, but she had been waiting to do that for ages.

"She's not the only one," Frost kicked in, a broad smile covering his face as he elbowed Korsak lightly in the side.

Feeling a blush creep up her neck Jane opened her mouth to say something; what, exactly, she didn't know. But when Frost brought Maura in to the teasing Jane felt her jaw clench. It was one thing to tease her but an entirely different matter to tease Maura. Ever since the two had confided in each other about getting teased as children Jane had felt protective of Maura. There was only one way to shut them up.

Tucking her fingers under Maura's chin, Jane angled the other woman's face up and pressed a kiss to her lips. It didn't last long but it shut up the two men on the opposite side of the table. Pulling away Jane stood and, without looking at Frost or Korsak, offered a hand to help Maura out of her seat. "You ready to go?"

She didn't know what she had been expecting, but Jane kissing her was definitely not it. The feeling only lasted a moment before the detective pulled away, and Maura felt her heart sink just a tad. That too only lasted for a moment, however, before Jane was offering the medical examiner her hand. Grabbing her purse, and Jane's hand, she was quick to get up. The early buzz she had felt was definitely gone, and as she followed her best friend out of the Dirty Robber, she had to admit that she was more than a little nervous.

The moment they were outside, Maura couldn't keep back how nervous she felt. Jane was her best friend, and if she had somehow messed that up…

"Jane?"

Trying to convince herself that not everyone in the Dirty Robber was staring at her Jane laced her fingers with Maura's and forged ahead towards the exit. It wasn't like she'd never held Maura's hand before but this kind of felt different. Like having their fingers laced, that was pretty nice.

The moment they were outside Jane turned to look at Maura. "Y-y-yeah?" she stammered, clearing her throat awkwardly.

Glancing at their hands for a moment, she couldn't keep her heart from skipping a small beat, which was stupid. Maura had held the detective's hand plenty of times. To be honest, they were both a tad touchy feely when it came to the other, and there had never been any real boundaries. Just unspoken ones. Tonight, she had kind of stomped all over them, but it felt good. Real good.

"You kissed me," she stated the fact clearly, proud that she didn't stutter like a complete idiot.

Dropping Maura's hand Jane stuffed both of her hands in to her pockets, rocking from the balls of her feet to her heels. It was only then that she wished she hadn't let go of Maura's hand. First of all it had been really nice and now she was mucking everything up. "Yeah, I guess I did. So what? You did it first," Jane explained, feeling like a toddler with her rationale.

Feeling her face scrunch up a tad, Maura was completely aware that she was giving Jane an odd look. Pulling her hand back to her chest, she couldn't help but fidget at the sudden distance between them, and she wondered how she was managing to say all the wrong things. "You were giving me a look, Jane. What else was I supposed to do?" In her opinion, kissing the detective had been the most rational thing to do.

Jane was extremely confused. Maura was the one who had kissed her and Jane had kissed her back. "Wait, what? I'm not allowed to look at you now?" She had no idea what Maura was talking about but Jane found herself getting more and more confused by the second.

Now she felt confused. Jane had to be aware of the look she was giving her… wasn't she? Scrunching her face up just a little more, she shook her head. This was giving her a headache. Staring at her friend, Maura cocked her head to the side a little. "Don't be silly, Jane. I never said that. You were just giving me one of your looks. A Jane look."

"One of my looks?" She had looks? Jane knew she had different faces like when she was angry but different faces? "I…have no idea what you are talking about." Why did she feel like they were talking themselves in circles and getting nowhere?

Now she was just getting frustrated. They were going nowhere, and they were getting there very, very fast. Sighing, Maura gave Jane a look that clearly said 'are you kidding me'? This was perhaps the most confusing conversation she had ever managed to have with her best friend, and that was saying a lot. "You have to be so complicated sometimes. It's frustrating," she said after a moment, holding back another sigh while resisting the urge to cross her arms over her chest. Instead, she just fidgeted.

Jane felt her jaw drop but for a few seconds all she could do was gape at Maura with her mouth opening and closing like a fish on dry land. Getting a hold of herself Jane tapped herself on the chest. "I'm complicated? I'm frustrating? Maura, you kissed me!" Had they experienced the same thing? Because Jane had a right to be confused, so why was Maura?

For a moment, all Maura could do was stare at Jane in surprise. This situation was quickly getting out of hand, and for once, she really didn't know what to do about it. She really needed a handbook on how to handle Jane sometimes, because this was just confusing. "Well, you kissed me back!" she accused, pointing at her best friend, not really sure if this was getting them anywhere any faster.

Jane took a step back when Maura pointed at her. "So?" Jane asked, crossing her arms defensively over her stomach. "It's not like it's a big deal or anything. I had to get Frost and Korsak off our backs."

And just like that, she wasn't confused or frustrated or much of anything else besides completely and utterly crushed. Smoothing out the invisible wrinkles of her dress, Maura ran her hands down the smooth fabric in an attempt to keep them from trembling. Taking a deep breath, Maura forced herself to keep a straight face despite the fact that she felt like she could cry, but Jane didn't like that sort of thing. The detective hated when she cried, and the medical examiner was trying her hardest to keep that from happening.

"Well, if that's all then… I'll be heading home now," the words tumbled out of her mouth as she turned around and headed straight for her care. She had noticed the slight tremor in her voice, and all she could do was hope that Jane had not.

If you are going to do something then do it all the way. And that is exactly what Jane did when she put her foot in her mouth. "Shit," she cursed to herself, taking a long stride to catch Maura's arm. "That's not what I meant Maura."

Giving Maura a shy smile Jane told her, "Just because it's not a big deal, doesn't mean I don't want to do it again." Nervously Jane tucked a strand of Maura's hair behind one ear, brushing her best friend's cheek before leaning in to kiss her again.

This was different from the other kisses, if not exactly planned they both knew it was coming this time. The kiss was soft and searching but when Jane exhausted her supply of oxygen she pulled away slowly and reluctantly. Still panting slightly Jane said, "Go out with me?"

Turning to look at the brunette, Maura felt her emotions once again stumble over themselves as she caught the look on her best friend's face. In the years that she had known Jane, the medical examiner had been pretty confident that she knew every single one of the detective's looks. This one, however, was completely new and, she had a feeling, that it was just for her. Which made her heart skip another beat. It was doing that a lot lately around Jane.

Whatever she had been about to say was silenced by the feel of warm fingers brushing against her cheek just moments before she felt Jane kiss her again. This time, however, there was ample opportunity for her to give as much as she was getting, and even though it was a slow and gentle kiss, Maura made sure to get across exactly how she was feeling at the moment.

Reaching up, she grabbed Jane's face gently in her hands, pulling the taller woman down just a notch so that their foreheads rested together. Vaguely aware of the fact that she was still on the verge of tears, but for an entirely different reason than before, Maura gave Jane one of the smiles that she only ever allowed the brunette to see.

"Jane, if you haven't noticed, we've been secretly dating for years." she pointed out with a watery laugh, leaning up the few more inches she needed to press a quick kiss to the detective's lips.

"I mean it, Maura. Will you go out with me?" Jane asked, only a little surprised to find her hands resting on Maura's hips. "A real date. You wear something pretty, I pick you up and we go out. What do you say?"

Letting her hands drop to rest on Jane's shoulders, Maura cocked her head to the side with a secretive smile. "Don't I always wear something pretty?" she asked, only half kidding. The serious look on the detective's face, however, made her offer up a halfway serious answer. "Sounds like a normal night for us, but if you want to call it a date, Jane, I think that's manageable. Took you long enough to ask," she teased lightly, feeling her heart do another little happy flip. Giving the brunette another small kiss, Maura squeezed her shoulders lightly.

"We could do something tomorrow. Something… official."

Jane felt her face stretch in to a huge smile. "Trust me, it won't be normal. But I can do official." Parting from another lingering kiss Jane backed away slowly. She didn't break eye contact with Maura until her back hit the driver's side door of her car. "I'll pick you up tomorrow, then, at 6:30. Night," she said in an almost whisper, still not taking her eyes off of Maura.

She didn't really want to go just yet, but if one of them didn't move, they were going to be here staring all night. Maura watched Jane for a moment longer, the smile on her face small and secretive. Taking a step back, the medical examiner nodded her head at the detective. "Goodnight, Jane."

Turning swiftly on her heel, which was impressive considering what she was wearing, Maura glanced back at Jane one last time before heading for her car.


End file.
